九月
by Katou Miki
Summary: Aka/Kuro (slightly Ao/Kuro in later chapters, and friendship Kise/Kuro). Akashi used to think lowly of Midorima's junk talks about fate, until he was forced to acknowledged that fate really does exist. He died, and there is no way he would be able to accept the fate judged upon him. Only Kuroko can feel that Akashi still lingers around, and keep his unrest spirit company.
1. Intro

**Title: **九月(September)

**Pairing: ** Aka/Kuro (slightly Ao/Kuro in later chapters, and friendship Kise/Kuro).

**Genre: **Supernatural (don't wince at that yet XD)/ Romance /Hurt-Comfort?

**Summary: ** Akashi used to think lowly of Midorima's junk talks about fate, thinking there's no such thing as "Man proposes, God disposes." Such what Midorima always said. Not until he was forced to acknowledged that fate really does exist. He died, and being an absolute victor that he is, there is no way he would be able to accept the fate judged upon him. Only Kuroko can feel that Akashi still lingers around, and keep his unrest spirit company.

**Warning**: Inconsistent tense, vocab misuse, high level abuse of grammar.

**Disclaimer: **Kuroko no Basuke (c) Fujimaki Tadatoshi, I don't own any of the characters,yo.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

As someone who is always-nearly always-calm and collected, the red haired youth had never spoken too much things that he considered unnecessary. Even among his own comrade, Akashi had never been that loud guy like Aomine, outgoing like Kise, or have a mixture of difficult personalities like Midorima. If his personality is to be gauged in numbers, every parameter should be showing the same exact number. He is not exactly social, not exactly outspoken, not exactly kindhearted, and not exactly friendly. The only parameter which number exceeds the rest of his personality is his charisma, a fact that is well understood by those he considers worthy to be of his allies. He was _once_ considered to be the best, the emperor who has won countless battles and stand at the top with glory.

He used to diss things about fate that Midorima often spoke of . For example, his motto, Man proposes, God disposes. He believed that life is a series of decisions and consequences. Humans have minds, they control their own decisions and choices. The matter left is just whether or not they used their minds in the right way. And he had long believed that he always made the right decision. He always do the right thing. He designed everything going on in his life perfectly.

He _thought_ so.

* * *

There is something wrong with his eyes. Everything around him being simply blurred, white figures moving back and forth. He can't really hear what they're saying, but it did sound like they're yelling to each other. _Why_? He thought. Why they are yelling to each other, he ran out of capacity to think about the answer. There was stinging, immense pain on his head, he can't feel his legs, his chest heavy with every attempt to breathe. He didn't remember anything but bright flash of light, and he lost consciousness afterwards just to wake up to the pain.

He wished that these guys would just do him a favor and shut up. Why did they sound like they're in panic? He can hear some random guy's voice shouting, "Not good, we're going to lose him!". _What are you talking about_? he thought. Do you know to who are you talking to? Losing is not something recognized in his dictionary. Even so, he wasn't really sure of what he heard. Voices and sounds blends into one, annoying buzz in his ears. It would really better if they just quiet, and who are they anyway? Making such a noise in the presence of an emperor, moreover talking about garbages such as losing.

It wasn't a good situation. His consciousness fades, really slowly, and he felt like he had fallen into a really deep slumber. Unliterally, he was sleeping. Sleeping a deep sleep, the one which he won't be awake once more. Or rather, not as someone he used to know he was.

* * *

**A/N: **That's all for the prologue, guys. I'm running this fic along with my other fic, so one of both updates might be faster/slower than the other. It depends on my mood (God, sorry for my mood swings!), so I hope you're still hanging there with me. XD The title was taken from Kalafina's Kugatsu, and I thought it was about the time when Akashi dies. :p


	2. Part that has Ended

**Title: **九月(September)

**Pairing: ** Aka/Kuro (slightly Ao/Kuro in later chapters, and friendship Kise/Kuro).

**Genre: **Supernatural (don't wince at that yet XD)/ Romance /Hurt-Comfort?

**Summary: ** He used to think lowly of Midorima's junk talks about fate. He does not recognize the phrase " Man proposes, God disposes". He had always thought life is a series of choices and consequences. It wasn't until it was beyond too late that he is forced to acknowledged that all of Midorima's talks might not be all wrong.

**Warning**: Inconsistent tense, vocab misuse, high level abuse of grammar.

**Disclaimer: **Kuroko no Basuke (c) Fujimaki Tadatoshi, I don't own any of the characters,yo

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**Chapter 2: A part that has ended**

It was around the time when the sun sets and the moon rises, when the pair of heterochromatic orbs flutters open. His surroundings was a familiar one. Shiny, well polished wooden floor, the sound of squeaks of rubber soles against the surface, and the beautiful sound of squishing net. The red haired one positioned himself into a straight sitting position. Being a self conscious person he was, it didn't take him that long to recognize who, where, and what is happening. Was he napping just now? _That's rare_, he thought. It wasn't that he never had naps, but it was just so rare that he can count the times he had them by the the number of fingers he had on one hand.

And what intrigued him is that no one woke him up.

But compared to what he witness on the court, fallen asleep without anyone waking him up is nothing. There are several things that he considers unforgivable, that includes losing, people who takes things half assed, and miserable plays. The last two are what he thought he would never saw from his team mates, yet it was right there on the court, speaking truth to him. The red haired boy have utter faith in himself, to lead, to educate, and to train people who are under him to the degree where they are worthy to be of his league. He can hear Nebuya shouting over Mibuchi for some of the missing shoots he made, and Mibuchi to Hayama when he hold on to the ball too long when it was just a second stringer that guards him. His intuition told him that there's something _happening_. He knew too damn well that those who serves him won't slack off this bad just because he wasn't paying attention from them a bit.

Wait.

_They_ wasn't paying attention to him at all. Nothing even like Mibuchi's 'Sei-chan, you've woken up?' or Hayama's overly loud 'Hey hey what are we going to do today?!'. It almost like he's not there. And none of them look like themselves. The air was thick with an awkward silence. Akashi always believed that he didn't really need to ask for anything, when he can totally analyze a situation on his own.

"..Haha..I've thought that it would be hard without Akashi, but.." Hayama let out a chuckle, somehow a lonesome, empty chuckle. "I didn't think that it might be _this_ hard. Sorry guys."

_What in the world are you talking about?_. He is right here, nowhere but in front of their very own eyes. This is no simple ignorance. If it was a late April Fools joke, then it's a horribly bad one. It rang an alarm on his head, that something _might_ have gone wrong somewhere in this situation. Something that went wrong beyond reparable measure. The heterochromatic eyed boy moved forward, but even _he_ can't hear his own footsteps. It rang him the alarm level two.

"..yeah, I guess none of us are into this for now." Mibuchi can't agree less, since the hole left behind by their late captain was bigger than what he thought Akashi would left. Nebuya gave out a long, tired sigh, and it was the same with the rest of them. The jersey number 4 Akashi left behind had been hung neatly and tidily as a piece of memento, right inside where his locker usually was. Despite that he was a strict person, the rest of the Rakuzan team could only thought that his presence may be thicker, more influential than they thought. "Let's call it a day, then. We'll practice again tomorrow."

_Now. Just. Wait_.

"I don't remember saying that practice's over. Hey. All of you!" Akashi surely can hear his own voice, loud and clear on his ears. Yet, there was no answer. The red haired one walked, his pace in a hurry. He catches to Hayama's back to hold him back, but what he found later was beyond his capacity of rational thinking.

There is no feel of pressure on the tip of his finger, he can't feel his sense of touch working. He looked at his hands, only to realize that they were not made of solid flesh. They were translucent, insubstantial thing. It went through the solid surface that was Hayama's skin smoothly. Akashi stopped his hand. He watched every single of his teammates' back, as they walked away in silence that was broken when Hayama spoke,

"Despite that Akashi says that winning is everything, I guess overcoming someone's death _is_ harder than overcoming a defeat."

-ooo-

It was a cold night at the end of September when his part of life has ended. Yet, nothing was colder to him than the feel when his fingers went through the surface of a basketball.

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(A/N: So somehow Akashi wake up in the place that has the strongest tie to him in the world for now (the school's gym, lol). Poor Akashi, now he can't even touch the basketball, have no one to talk to, yet he can't accept the way he died just yet because it wasn't on his agenda. xD How would you like this chapter? Reviews are as sweet as candies, but it satisfies me enough if you guys enjoyed the fic as much as I enjoy writing it x3)


	3. The Emperor's Fall from Grace

**Title: **九月(September)

**Pairing: ** Aka/Kuro (slightly Ao/Kuro in later chapters, and friendship Kise/Kuro).

**Genre: **Supernatural (don't wince at that yet XD)/ Romance /Hurt-Comfort?

**Summary: **Akashi attempted to have any contact with any living person around, but have yet to have a result. Apparently no one's sensitive enough to sense his presence. He learn that he can haunt an object, or a place, and he wondered whether if he tried enough, he can haunt people and having one of them come to contact with him.

**Warning**: Inconsistent tense, vocab misuse, high level abuse of grammar.

**Disclaimer: **Kuroko no Basuke (c) Fujimaki Tadatoshi, I don't own any of the characters,yo.

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Emperor's Fall From Grace**

He no longer bother to remember what day was it, since his agenda has never been this empty. Ever since the day he was forced to acknowledge that he had died, the red haired one had done nothing but attempting any contact possible with any living human around him. He had heard of stories about haunted place where people could see or hear voices of astral beings such as his present self, but everything he had done had yet to show any result.

The first day after Akashi realized his death, he wandered around the school, following wherever his teammates went. He tried to touch Nebuya, which he actually know was a futile thing. His hand once again went through the tall guy's arms, like how it did when he attempted to touch Hayama's shoulder the day before. He tried to call out to them, but none of them can hear him. When he tried to block their way, they just went through him as if there was nothing but thin air.

As someone who once stood at the highest place and having people serving him, he had never felt this way. He had never once _ignored_. Even when he wasn't talking to any of them, there would be one or two coming his way offering him a service, such as placing his towel, or offering him some honey lemon. His presence was a valuable thing. He knew how much he's worth. He had everyone's eyes on him, full of both admiration and envy.

But now, the emperor has fallen from his grace.

He's now nothing but an unrest spirit haunting a facility in his own school. Empty, lonely , and full of regrets. He had never regretted anything, since he was always right. He remembered Midorima's words back on the day when he faced the spectacled boy during his lifetime. _"Don't talk as if you know everything when all you know was victory!" _he said. He remembered he instantly rejected Midorima's words, because winners are validated and losers are denied. At first, those words slipped on his mind on a whim. But the more he stood there alone, the more those words rang loud in his head. Had he known everything, he would already know that a regret could taste _this _bitter.

Then again, what did he know apart from winning?

* * *

As a wandering soul, Akashi had too many times on his hands contemplating. About his past life, his current self, and wondering why he's still around. He thought it would be easier to just fade away and went into Nirvana or anywhere people say dead people went to, but in fact, he's still here.

He learned some facts about himself as a ghost during those times. He can't go anyway further than his school, but he somewhat can go to his house if he concentrated on the image of it. He saw his mother lit up the incense on his altar, sitting in front of it for some while and being quiet. He called out for her, but still, she can't hear him. Akashi left his mother be, considering there's nothing to do around, since he wasn't exactly that child who was close to his parents.

He can haunt the objects that had some value to him when he's alive. For instance, the jersey number 4 he had worn with pride. He can reappear in front of his locker if he thought of it enough, and it's a same theory with the rest of objects he considered valuable. He can haunt places that is memorable to him. He can appear in front of his grave, or the gym back on Teikou, in the same way he haunt an object.

And he wondered whether with the same theory, he can haunt people that is far away.

* * *

(A/N: That's all for this chapter, folks! The next one should be where Akashi tried to come into contact with his Teikou teammates XD.)


	4. Among the Seas of Doubt and Persistence

**Title: **九月(September)

**Pairing: ** Aka/Kuro

**Genre: **Supernatural/ Romance /Hurt-Comfort

**Summary: **Akashi sat back and give himself some time to think about his current situation. He tried to initiate contact with his former Teikou teammates, with Midorima as a first try. Will he ever get someone to notice his restless presence, only time will tell.

**Warning**: Inconsistent tense, vocab misuse, high level abuse of grammar.

**Disclaimer: **Kuroko no Basuke (c) Fujimaki Tadatoshi, I don't own any of the characters,yo.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Among the Seas of Doubt and Persistence  
**

[_What's that, Shintarou? Lucky item for today?_] It's been bothering him for a while, the massive raccoon shaped statue that has been sitting in one of the locker room's bench, taking up spaces for the others to sit.

[_Yes. And Oha Asa said today's a bad day for Sagittarius guys. You better be careful, Akashi ._]

He snorted.

[_What's that?_] A snicker rang in a now distant memory, [_What did Oha Asa say about it?_]

[_Something that can make you sit in bed for a week. An accident, perhaps._]

He looked at the green haired youth with eyes that reflected silent mockery . His lips twisted into a smile-an obscure smile with faint hints that indicates confusion and distaste. He can never relate to such illogical things, especially not Shintarou's interests for that matter.

[_I think you know better that I am not interested in such things, Shintarou._] He knew that Shintarou never forgets, just a little bit too persistent in rubbing this specific habit of his to the others, which he usually dismiss as mere needless worry .

The other man shrugged before turning away.

[_I know. But you can never be too careful_].

* * *

When Akashi opened his eyes, the clouds hung heavy above his head, fattened with what seemed to be droplets of water. It's been several weeks and the traces of summer has been blown away along with falling sunflower petals, only to be replaced by the chill of crisp autumn wind and not-so-sudden surge of brown and red spreading everywhere as trees preparing themselves for winter slumber. Another thing that he knew about himself as a ghost, is that he can sleep as well.

A week has passed since Akashi came with the idea of trying to haunt people that is far away. Certain candidates that tops his list are no other than his former Teikou teammates. It's been also a week since his first try, and he has yet to come with anything but spectacular failures. Most of the times, he goes nowhere at all, or returning to places he already encountered. After numerous irrational things happened to him these past weeks, a plausible theory such as range problem could not possibly be the issue. He can reach Teikou, and that alone is a fact that he can travel far enough. Apparently, trying to reach a person is harder than it is to reach a place.

Was his focus not enough? Or was it his determination that is not enough?

Akashi can only snicker at the thoughts. Focus and determination, both are things he never lack of. When he desire something, it will come to him eventually. And he thought, perhaps he simply not patient enough. But it's been a week and after numerous failures he considered it normal to start questioning where could things possibly go wrong. He never fails, so why now? One good thing about being a mere spectre is that nobody saw his failures- and that's when his pride kicking in, torturing his restless soul in self-loathe, shame and hatred for being grateful over such subtle exposure of Akashi Seijuurou's hidden weakness.

He never hated himself before. He thought he never would. Not when he thought he will always stood righteously.

The red haired shook his head, as if doing so will shoo away the negative emotions coming at him in masses, attacking his mind in every open spot possible. He exerted every self control he has to calm himself and block unnecessary thoughts that may cloud his judgements. Actually he find it unbelievable-how can he try so hard for something uncertain? Nobody has taken notice of him so far, why would he even bother now? There is no guarantee that anybody will ever notice. Back in his days, he too would never believe in the existence of supernatural beings. Yet, nothing is ever certain since the day he died, so he deemed trial and error as necessary process. As what will he do when he found _the _person, he will consider things as it progresses.

The boy exhaled sharply. For now, there is no way but to try again. In his mind's eye, he focused on the images of his teammates. He used to try to picture them in groups, so now he will try to focus on one image in each try. The first person that came to his mind is undoubtedly Shintarou, as the spectacled youth are undoubtedly the one with most interest in these matters. He calmed his mind, focusing to the image of Shintarou's constant grumpy expression and feel the extreme, terribly urgent needto meet and talk with him.

Akashi felt a sudden pressure on his back, as if he's about to be blown by the loud rustles of autumn wind. When he regains the control of his own self again, he find himself in a place familiar to certain extents. The squeaking of rubber against wooden surface and loud thud of basketball hitting the floor. Just before he thought he gained another point for failure, Akashi quickly notice the presence of his former vice dribbling and playing as perfect as he always remember. He decided to wait by the side until he got some time alone with Shintarou.

Just when the practice's over, everyone went home and Shintarou is walking home by himself, Akashi attempted to initiate a contact. At first, it was a voice test. He tried to call him by, only to be followed by no apparent response. The same response occured when he tried to initiate several touch tests. It happened like it is supposed to be, his fingers going through Shintarou's body like an insubstantial matter that he is. There's not even slightest response like chills, or goosebumps. No response nothing. The boy just keep pacing himself forward on his way home as night starting to fall quite late and streets are getting lonely.

Shintarou's response is just like any other person he has attempted to contact so far, which can directly translated as another failure. With the person on top of his list goes down, Akashi gets even more skeptic towards the prospect of this so-called plan. With their skills aside, he knew quite well that Daiki and Ryouta are quite of the thick-headed. He isn't sure of what to expect from them regarding supernatural matters. He remembered Daiki getting excited when Ryouta mentioned about test of courage stuff back in their Teikou days, eager about the idea of encountering one or two restless souls, which he turn down instantly at the time due to it's irrelevance to their- Teikou's-objective.

He simply wonder whether they still retain the enthusiasm this very day-and whether they will be as excited to a chance of encountering a familiar spectre.

* * *

**A/N: **And here I thought I will never update this fic! Apparently I am wrong, but since it's been a while since this story is published I made some alterations here and there. I knew I say it will be around the time when Akashi will try to get in contact with his former Teikou teammates somehow, but I decided it is for the next chapter. Please bear with me,I simply like to take things slowly before eventually Kuroko come into the picture. :)

**P.S: **I decided to use a cover picture. Credits goes to: 餓一 原稿中 pixiv.


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